Guide to fenders

Trelleborg Marine Systems | Takes the pressure off

Fenders more than just a block of black rubber

Port owners and operators spend millions of dollars each year developing safe and efficient port facilities.
However, this can easily be put at risk by abnormal berthing of vessels and inadequate design of fendering
and marine protection structures.
Bringing a moving vessel to rest against a dockside requires the vessels kinetic energy to be dissipated,
or absorbed, by a protective fender to prevent structural or vessel damage. As vessel sizes have increased
in recent years, the energy absorption demands placed upon a fender systems have also increased.
The design, manufacture and use of fenders suitable for protecting modern, high value vessels, and on-shore
port structures is a complex process requiring a great deal of expertise in order to prevent damage, reduce
downtime and maintenance costs, increase fender life and ultimately preserve investment.
Given the extensive financial outlay, and high load requirements, it is essential that port owners and
operators understand that the standard block of black rubber often considered a fender, is no longer
an adequate solution.

A fender for every requirement

There are a wide variety of fender systems to meet
every possible berthing requirement, whether shipto-shore or ship-to-ship, which can be broken down
into three main types:
The buckling fender
Either with a front panel and rubber cone, or
direct contact
The pneumatic fender

Either foam or gas filled pneumatic cylinder

The side loaded fender

A cylindrical torsion bar system

Benefits of performance characteristics

Circular or cone
shape with
panel contact

Buckling
Type
Types of Fenders

Longitudinal
shape with
panel contact
Buckling type
with direct
contact

Pneumatic

Pneumatic
Type
Foam

Side Loaded
Type

Cylindrical

Main components of a fender system

Choosing the right fender

2
3
4
5

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Rubber fender
Chains and accessories (U-anchors, brackets & shackles)
Steel panel paited with corrosion protection paints
UHMW PE facing
Fender fixing anchors & bolts

Steel Panels
Steel panels with ultra high molecular weight poly
ethylene UHMW-PE facing are used to distribute
reaction forces into the hulls of berthing vessels.
P
 anels are designed to suit the berthing
conditions considering many design parameters
and environmental factors.
Restraining movement
Chains are used to restrain fender movement; there
are three types of chains used in a fender system:
Tension Chain:
The function is to protect the fender from damage
while under compression
Weight Chain:
Used to support the weight of the frontal and
face panel
Shear Chain:
Protects the fender from damage while in
shear deflection

A variety of factors influence the specification of a

fender system. These include, but are not limited to:

Local marine environment

Exposure of harbour basins
Class and configuration of vessels
Speed and direction of vessel approach
Availability of docking assistance
Type of berthing structure
Skills of the captain

The variety of port conditions means that only

a skilled engineer, with knowledge of the port
conditions, usage requirements and historical data,
should be responsible for specifying a fender system.

Design procedures
Energy the guiding force
Conservation of energy is the guiding principle
for general fender design procedures. Firstly, its
important to calculate the energy that will be
delivered by the impact of the heaviest vessel
berthed and then select the fender design capable
of absorbing the energy, without exceeding the
maximum allowable force on the pier.

E
 nergy absorption exceeds effective impacting
energy of ships
R
 eaction force is less than the structures
allowable reaction force
S
 urface pressure, or hull pressure, is less than
the allowable hull surface pressure
W
 hen berthing in a slanting direction, fenders will
bare an angular compression decreasing energy
absorption at the point of impact

Calculating berthing energy

Satisfy requirements of extreme environments

There are four accepted methods for calculating the

energy of a berthing ship, these include the kinetic
energy method, statistical method, scale model tests
and mathematical modelling.

C
 hosen wisely for the investment (performance
vs price)

The most commonly used approach is the kinetic

energy method, where the energy of berthing is
dependent on the mass or water displacement of
the ship and its approach velocity. The initial energy
derived is then modified depending on additional
factors such as the mass of water moving with
the vessel, rotation of the ship at impact, berth
configuration and deformation of the ships hull;
vessel energy.

T he price of maintenance and installation (whole

life cost) should be considered in the investment
D
 esign of the panel should account for the type
and range of vessels using the berth
D
 esign of the steel frame and accessories is as
important as the type of rubber used

The final design energy of the fender includes

a factor of safety (FOS) between 1.25 and 2,
depending on factors such as vessel size and
location. The final energy requirement is usually
called the abnormal berthing energy. The selection
of the fender system should be conducted in
accordance with fender performance (reaction force,
energy absorption, and deflection curve). The fender
system selection has the following requirements:

Performance Curve

Standard Curve

Advanced fenders require advanced

manufacturing
Not just a block of black rubber
The increased demands placed on contemporary
fender systems requires a highly-considered design
with the highest quality materials and bespoke
rubber compounds, using the most innovative
manufacturing processes.
The load/ deflection characteristics commonly known
as the performance of the fender is very much
dependent on the manufacturing process. The fender
manufacturing process involves:

Vertical Compression
Carried out at various speeds and temperatures

Compound formulation and mixing of rubber

compounds
Embedded steel surface preparation
Building (extrusion/wrapping or moulding)

The curing or vulcanisation of the fender is done

either in an autoclave, or compression press or
press-free curing. Given the thickness of a fender,
the precise determination of curing time is an
important exercise using a thermocouple test, to
ensure performance is achieved after vulcanisation.
Physical rubber properties recommended by PIANC
help to ensure acceptable resistance to heat ageing
and environmental attack, especially ozone. Other
properties frequently tested include: compression
set, tear resistance, seawater resistance, abrasion
resistance, rubber to metal bond strength and
dynamic fatigue resistance. The highest quality
of rubber raw materials is paramount for long
term performance life, the use of poor quality and
recycled rubber may have a low purchase price,
but will undoubtedly result in a high whole life cost.

Angular Compression
Ranging from 3 to 20 degrees

Rigorous performance testing

Vertical compression, angular compression and
durability are tested to determine the performance
of the fenders, in accordance with PIANC guidelines.

Durability
Fenders are tested to ensure sustainability to withstand
repeated deflections of 3000 cycles

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